"1. to affect or contaminate (a person, organ, wound, etc.) with disease-producing germs."2. to affect with disease."3. to taint or contaminate with something that affects quality, character, or condition unfavorably: to infect the air with poison gas."4. to corrupt or affect morally."

A "confection" is "confected" from several different ingredients or elements. Most confections are sweet, but the word can also be used to refer to any finely worked piece of craftsmanship. In other words, the lacy box containing chocolate confections can be a confection itself. The verb "confect" (meaning "put together from varied material") comes from Latin "confectus," the past participle of "conficere," meaning "to prepare." "Conficere" joins the prefix "con-" with the common Latin verb "facere," meaning "to make" or "to do." "Factory," "manufacture," and "benefactor" are among the many relations.

There may be a few big city neighborhoods, esp. on the West coast, in which you could get away with "Yeast Infection". But clever as it is, the obvious association would likely not play to your favor. "Yeast Confection" might confuse, as it harbors an internal contraction: Yeast implies bread. Confection implies sugary treat.

I've thought recently that "Oven Spring" would be a great name for a bakery. I don't think it's taken, whereas my other recent ideas (Boule Miche and Workingman's Bread) are. No, I'm not considering opening a bakery. But names "spring" to mind now and then.

A Yeast Infection is not a pleasant connotation! Not the sort of thing I want to think about when looking at bread, and in fact the thought of it makes bread seem several hundred times less appealing than usual. Best avoided I think.

Yeast confection- I suppose it sounds alright, but it's still a pun on the aforementioned! I'm sure you could come up with a non-icky yeast or bread related pun!

Bear in mind this forum gets frequented by fans--short for fanaticals. Given that fact, such a whimsical play on words tends to be more acceptable. In the "real world" people are not as focused in and accepting.

Case in point? Recently I was sharing some of my infectious yeastie activities with a good friend--someone who loves when I cook for her. Loves my food, and has thoroughly enjoyed some of my early baking adventures.

With this frame in mind, when I began to share my exploits at attempting to capture the wild yeast from locally grown wine grapes, and then follow through with the creation of my first-ever sourdough starter, I observed her eyes glaze over as soon as I mentioned the word "yeast".

After a bit, I stopped, asking her why the obvious disinterest. Her response to me was that "women don't like yeast. It's not a pleasant word/condition for us." There was more, however suffice it to say, I dropped the conversation with her and have not brought it up again

All this to say having a booming sign promoting your bakery with giant words "Yeast Infection" not likely to get the response you're hoping for. But that's just this baker's opinion. It would be quite interesting to get your feedback on how the real-world in your area responds. Looking forward to it!

Back in the late 1960's at the Chrysler Corporation, they were giving the car paint colors names such as "Vitamin C Orange" and "Sub-Lime", the purple color was initially named "Statuatory Grape" then the powers that be opted for "Plum Crazy Purple". Good move I'd say, you never want to associate your business with something negative. Another story, when R.E.M. was first forming as a band they were torn between two names "Can of Piss" and "R.E.M." I bet, about right now, their bank accounts are glad they opted for R.E.M.

The Chevy Nova was a flop in countries that speak spanish because "No Va" means "doesn't go" in spanish. It is good you are doing the research here and finding out the choice of name is probably not a good one, GM executives were baffled as to why the car wouldn't sell till somebody pointed out the problem to them, always research your market.

That's really "spiffy" how long do you want your business to last until your initial investment is tossed due to a bad decision on selecting a pet name. One fact in business, the name might bring them in out of curioustiy but if you don't have the deliverables you'll be toast in no time. The fact that you're hung up on the name does not bode well for your future in the bread business.

Ok, that's on the table and it might sound rough on the order of a drill seargeant but it's the type of shaping up you'll have to do if - and that's a big "if" you survive the first six months under fire trying to make it in the real World of the business.

What's in a name? It was everything in the old Yellow Pages - today? - it's different..., Think of how to go viral on the internet and what and how you'll set the social media to your door. This is the new reality of making it for a lot of small businesses that have no traction within the community. Remember, you're fooling with people's taste buds which are extremly sensitive and have an extremely long memory. Mess up one time and that's it, they won't be back - or worse yet you'll never get them in the door in the first place because you violated or crossed some secret line or social more unwittingly.

The best thing to do is to use the "Keep It Simple Stupid" principle [KISS]. A catch phrase name does have cachet but also requires that you file trademarks to protect your rights and also to ascertain that it isn't already in use saving you from an expensive law suit requiring a name change.

Take your time and get inputs from family and friends. Good names may also carry regional connotations giving them "local ownership" - another leg up for inviting those who have the "inside" to your establishment.

I'll finish with T.S. Eliot's "Naming of Cats"..., It's apropos:

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,It isn't just one of your holiday games;You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatterWhen I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--All of them sensible everyday names.There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--But all of them sensible everyday names.But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-Names that never belong to more than one cat.But above and beyond there's still one name left over,And that is the name that you never will guess;The name that no human research can discover--But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.When you notice a cat in profound meditation,The reason, I tell you, is always the same:His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplationOf the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:His ineffable effableEffanineffableDeep and inscrutable singular Name.

Double-edged business names can be a great mnemonic... but both connotations have to be positive, so as many have said already, the negative implications of "Infection" can only hurt.

It's hard to think dispassionately about such things... we are always so impressed with our own wit that it's very advisable to get as many second opinions as we can to avoid horrible, costly mistakes... ; ))

Even "yeast" is not the best sign name for many are not even familiar with yeast and its role in bread baking.

What are you selling? (Certainly not yeast infections!) Paint a picture in the mind of your customer what you are selling.

Look up the word "bread" and you will find a much more positive definition. Also meaning more than just bread...

So "Bread" as a sign (hanging in the wind) does the trick for the customer walking on the sidewalk but you want to put your shop name above other breads. Something wholesome on a business card or shopping bag. Something the City Mayor can say when presenting to you the key to the city without turning red with embarrassment. (a person should dream) Let's get started again...

too far out. You make think it's hysterical, but when we were looking for slogans for OUR bakery in a small conservative town in NE Ohio, somebody suggested that and I turned it down. Not b/c it's not good, but b/c you have to think of your audience. If they are OK w/ it, of course go for it! LOL

I agree that something nutritious and tasty shouldn't be named after a disease. I thought of a couple more, but they have some problems, too. Swheat! should rhyme with wheat, but I'm afraid people will think "sweat." Also not a good connotation. I thought of Organic Chemistry, which does describe organic baking, but I doubt if the general population would make the connection. I think I only thought of it because I majored in chemistry in college. (And cooking is very similar. Mix x amounts of reagents at a certain pressure and temperature to get a product.)

when you look around your area, and especially your competition, what is it that makes you DIFFERENT? That would be a great way to start thinking about a name. Do you focus on certain ingredients? Do you have a certain technique that nobody else uses? A history of you bakery or breads? I used to work in advertising, and one of the first things you want your cutomers to know is your "story". That's how they, in their mind, identify you and tell you apart from your competition. If you have a good story, people will remember that story and you - then you need the product and service to back up that story.

I don't want to think about unappealing things while buying or eating food. We're not in grade school (well, I'm not), yeast infections aren't funny.

Perhaps this is just me, but I also don't find euphemistic names appealing, funny, or cute in the slightest. A guaranteed way to get me to skip your product is to try to use sex to sell it to me, either directly or indirectly. Using sex to sell a product means your product has no other positive qualities which distinguish it from your competition, period. Not only that, it means your company lacks a basic sense of professionalism or anything resembling pride in its product.

O.k., Stu - I have a hard time deciding if you were serious with our original post, but now I'm even less sure.

If I may:

if you are really looking for a name that will "ring true" with your CUSTOMERS, you need to think like your CUSTOMERS. Right now, you're thinking like a baker (and seem to be pretty narrow-minded, to say the least).

If you're so hung up on the "Yeast Infection" thing, run with it. Good luck - you'll need it.

My experience has shown that people suffer from TMI (too much information). Ask me how why a watch works and you can get two answers. One explains the workings of a watch, the other says you have to wind it. People really don't care how bread or sausage is made. They only care about the taste and the price. A simple sigh that says, "Good bread. Fair prices" Is all you need.

That would be a great name for a bakery. I'd buy their bread for sure.

I enjoy knowing how my food is made. I want to know whether my sausage casing is natural or collagen. I want to know the type of meat that goes into it. I don't mind eating heart, tongue, or other 'variety meats'. In a lot of cases I'll seek these out because they provide a much more interesting flavor/texture. Tacos de lengua ruined me for all other tacos. One thing I hate about the modern supermarket is that finding these meats is very difficult. I generally have to go to places like Whole Foods where they're kept frozen. Even then they only have the marginally more popular items like tongue or sweetbreads. Finding hog jowls is very difficult. Want blood? No chance. Even the asian market only sells it cooked.

They're not selling these other items because these other items don't sell. That says a lot about your customer base. Cater to those people.

I was just making a couple of suggestions, and I don't see how in the hell either of them could be construed as being overtly sexual or offensive. I guess being accused of being "unprofessional" was meant to be offensive, although it's laughable since I already explained that I'm a beginning baker.

No, I won't try again. It's not worth my time. I'm new here. I've been on these forums less than a week. If your kind of attitude is prevalent here, then I guess it's best I find out sooner rather than later.

My comment was not meant for you. When someone replies to a comment, that reply is indented beneath the comment they replied to. When someone replies to the OP (original poster) the reply is not indented. If you'll examine my comment carefully, it was not indented beneath yours, which signifies that it was not a reply to yours.

Your comment could not be construed as sexual or offensive in any way, shape, or form.

Since this was a misunderstanding, I'll assume the rest no longer applies.

I never knew my great-grandfather, who started a bakery in Austria-Hungary at the turn of the last century. I have no idea what he named his business. But I do know his last name was "Kern"--the German word for Kernel or a single piece of grain.

What would be more perfect than to buy bread from "Mr. Grain"? I like to image that's what the townspeople called him.

(Kern can also mean the essence, heart, or core of an object or idea; "Essence of Bread" ain't bad either!)

Reading this post a half year later, I saw your mentioning of your great-grandfather, a baker in Austria-Hungary at the turn of the last century. What do you know? My great-grandfather also was a baker in Austria-Hungary at the turn of the last century (we must be around the same age (-: ). His last name was Katz, but I don't know the name of the bakery; it was in Tarnopol (either the town or the district). Anyway, it's in my genes to bake bread, and I haven't stopped for 7 years. I've just applied to start a Cottage Food Organization in Sonoma County, California. Anyway, I enjoyed your discussion of the name Kern. (No, I'm not calling my CFO "Ms. Katz"!)

PS: I once knew of a bakery in Danville, CA, called "The Rising Loafer." Now that's cute! Don't know if it still exists, though.

I would hesitate shopping at a bakery named "Yeast Infection". My spontaneous feeling would be "yuck!"

Only men who never had to deal with one would associate with this name only their enthusiasm for baking with yeast. Most women had to suffer at one time or another from yeast infections - and most certainly didn't find that funny.

Here in Maine, we have hair salons named: "Curl up and Dye" and "Cutting Remarks". These names are always good for a laugh, when we pass them on our way to Portland - but I wouldn't go there.

And when we had ice cream made by "Gelato Fiasco", we found that the name was well suited - it was, true to its name, really bad.

Our local bakery in Bar Harbor is called "Morning Glory Bakery", a name that has only nice connotations - and a beautiful door sign.

I call my little bakery "Karin's Bäckerei" - just what it is, a German bakery owned by me.

Yeast Infection is just too common a term among women to get past the obvious meaning for us. Also, you'd be very sorry if anything actually did go wrong with the baking while you were using that name. The name would come back to bite you. It's like the time that I heard a song entitled "Frustrated, Incorporated" and thought it would be a great name for a computer system troubleshooting company. My husband pointed out the same thing as I did above: the name would be funny until the first time a client was frustrated by our service. Then we'd never live it down.

I wouldn't shop at a bakery here named Pain Pain, when it opened, even though I understand that "pain" is bread in French. If you don't know any French, Pain Pain sounds sado-masochistic. Even if you do know that "pain" means bread, why say "Bread Bread"? If you mix the two, is it Pain Bread, or Bread Pain? Is it the bread or the personnel who cause the pain? After eating dinner at a nearby restaurant that belonged to the same owners, I'd have to guess it is the personnel, but I honestly have no idea about the bakery.

A couple of people have noted, "But that's already taken." Is a name off limits in a small town in Utah simply because it's been used somewhere else, even if there's no likelihood that either baker will bump into the other in a dark alley?

Interesting post. Names are obviously important. IMHO offensive names will certainly attract counter-culture folks but are likely to repel others. Case in point: we thought we were being pretty cute when our restaurant/bakery named one of our ice cream dessert items "Chocolate Orgasm". Many guests thought it was pretty amusing. But Sunday church groups were not impressed. We changed the name to "Chocolate Nirvana" and, voila, most guests seemed to be pretty happy. Yeast Infection? It would certainly cause discussion and, hopefully, good business BUT IMHO it is a poor choice. I like two of the suggestions above: wheat dreams and amber waves of grain. Here's another: we knead the dough bakery. Whatever you do, good luck!

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